BleedinBlue

From ProFootballTalk: "The maximum number of compensatory picks any team can receive is four, which the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals got this year. The Bears, Colts, Eagles and Redskins got three compensatory picks apiece. The Bills, Panthers and Dolphins got two each, and the Falcons, Packers, Giants, Rams, Chargers and Titans each got one. The most valuable compensatory picks are the third-rounders, which were awarded to the Redskins, Bengals, Falcons and Ravens. In past years those would have been the last four picks of the first day of the draft; this year the third round is on the second day. Fourth-round compensatory picks went to the Eagles, Bills, Ravens, Titans and Packers. Only one team, the Chargers, got a fifth-round compensatory pick. Sixth-round compensatory picks were awarded, in order, to the Giants, Eagles, Colts, Colts, Eagles, Dolphins, Colts, Ravens and Bengals. The rest of the compensatory picks are seventh-rounders". I think the Giants got screwed on this one!

I ran across this nice website called New Era Scouting and read their analysis on the teams in our division. It covers how last year's draft turned out....how this years free agency pickups/losses will effect team...and what to expect in this years draft. I found it most amusing because this group of analysts (using 20:20 hindsight) gave the Giants an A+ for last year's draft (no, this isn't an April Fools joke). Pretty amusing since the highest rating I saw last year by the Mel Kiper type experts was a B, and the low was a C-. Anyway....this is a good read in my opinion Inside The NFC East War Room In their bi-weekly column, writers Luke Paul Chandler and Dave Gardner will be describing each team’s last draft class, top needs and draft strategies all the way up until the draft. Today, Dave takes a look at the NFC East. By Dave Gardner 3/31/08 The Dallas Cowboys Draft Strategy It’s no secret that Jerry Jones has the final say in Dallas. He has two main flaws as a drafter: he likes big names, and he tends to overstock the cupboards at certain positions. In the last three drafts, the Cowboys have selected defensive linemen or linebackers with four of their last first-round picks; they’ve also selected three tight ends in the last five drafts. It’s widely assumed that Jones wants to trade up for Darren McFadden, but with two first round picks, the Cowboys will likely stay put. They need to add depth at several positions, especially at the offensive skill positions. A Look Back - Picks (Round Picked in Parentheses): Anthony Spencer (1), James Martin (3), Isiah Stanback (4), Doug Free (4), Nick Folk (6), Deon Anderson (6), Courtney (7), Alan Ball (7). Grade: C- - Comments: The Cowboys got the most production out of Anthony Spencer and Nick Folk in this class. Spencer, a starter for the first six weeks of the season, lost the job to Comeback POY, Greg Ellis. Folk, however, connected on 26-31 of his field goals and didn’t misfire on any extra points. Deon Anderson was the only player to start a game from this draft class. Other players contributed throughout this class, but no one proved exceptional. Free Agency Free-For-All - Key Losses: S Keith Davis (Miami), DT Jason Freguson (traded, Miami), FC Oliver Hoyte (Kansas City), RB Julius Jones (Seattle), CB Nathan Jones (Miami), CB Jacques Reeves (Houston) - Key Additions: LB Zach Thomas (Miami) - Top Remaining Needs: Cornerback, running back, wide receiver, offensive guard, offensive tackle, 3-4 defensive end, quarterback ————————————————————————————– The New York Giants Draft Strategy In his first season on the job, Giants general manager Jerry Reese certainly proved his worth. The Giants, in recent years, have selected a slue of defensive ends and linebackers, and their outstanding pass rush was evidence of that. They did not select any position twice last year, and that has been a trend for them. They had trouble in the previous regime of scouting defensive backs, but Reese turned that around with the selections of Aaron Ross and Michael Johnson. Most importantly, years after the famed Eli Manning trade with the Chargers, the Giants have been vindicated. They need to address the back end of the defense and the linebacking corps in this draft. A Look Back - Picks (Round Picked in Parentheses): Aaron Ross (1), Steve Smith (2), Jay Alford (3), Zak DeOssie (4), Kevin Boss (5), Adam Koets (6), Michael Johnson (7), Ahmad Bradshaw (7). A+ - Comments: This was definitely the best draft of last season . All eight players from his first draft made the team, and seven of them made significant contributions throughout the season. The only one who didn’t, offensive tackle Adam Koets, was on injured reserve. This class wasn’t involved in the 0-2 start, but were the main contributors in the Giants amazing playoff run. In the Super Bowl, Bradshaw had a game-high 45 yards and Jay Alford recorded a final and extremely memorable planting of Tom Brady. Free Agency Free-For-All - Key Losses: K Shane Andrews (Indianapolis), DT William Joseph (Oakland), LB Kawika Mitchell (Buffalo), LB Reggie Torbor (Miami), S Gibril Wilson (Oakland) - Key Additions: QB David Carr (Carolina), LB Danny Clark (Houston), S Sammy Knight (Jacksonville) - Top Remaining Needs: Safety, inside linebacker, outside linebacker, cornerback, offensive tackle, wide receiver/returner, quarterback ————————————————————————————– The Philadelphia Eagles Draft Strategy The Eagles are consistently one of the better drafting teams in the league. They choose the best player available on their boards, and they aren’t afraid of releasing successful veterans whom they feel will no longer be contributors. Some picks have been controversial to the fans, but under coach Andy Reid, the Eagles have been one of the most consistently good teams in football. Since 2000, they’ve selected at least one star in every draft. The Eagles will look to add help for Donovan McNabb, especially at wide receiver, while shoring up depth on both lines. A Look Back - Picks (Round Picked in Parentheses): Kevin Kolb (2), Victor Abiamiri (2), Stewart Bradley (3), Tony Hunt (3), C.J. Gaddis (5), Brent Celek (5), Rashad Barksdale (6), Nate Illaoa (7). Grade: B- - Comments: Some consider this draft a bust for the Eagles because it didn’t have any immediate contributors. However, Andy Reid is one of the best quarterback coaches in the league, and Kevin Kolb has a potential to be a Pro Bowler for many years after McNabb’s tenure in Philly is over. Other players such as Abiamari, Bradley and Celek saw considerable playing time and should be building blocks for the future. Free Agency Free-For-All - Key Losses: CB Will James (Buffalo), DE Jevon Kearse (Tennessee), LB Takeo Spikes, FB Thomas Tapeh (Minnesota), FB Thomas Tapeh (Minnesota) - Key Additions: LB Rocky Boiman (Indianapolis), DE Chris Clemons (Oakland), DT/FB Dan Klecko (Indianapolis), CB Asante Samuel (New England), TE/FB Kris Wilson (Kansas City) - Top Remaining Needs: Wide receiver, defensive end, safety, offensive tackle, defensive tackle, return specialist, punter ————————————————————————————– The Washington Redskins Draft Strategy It’s hard to determine the draft strategy of a team that trades away all of its picks. In the past three drafts, the Redskins have selected only 17 players, and just eight of them are still with the team. That’s an extremely poor draft record, and despite making the playoffs in two out of the last four seasons, the Redskins need to learn to build for the future, not for the present. With new head coach Jim Zorn and general manager Vinny Cerrato not making any plays in free agency. They’ll have every pick this draft except for their fourth rounder, used in a three-way trade in which they gained running back T.J. Duckett. The Redskins need to add players who can rush the passer, and who can help their passer, Jason Campbell, develop into the star he can be. A Look Back - Picks (Round Picked in Parentheses): LaRon Landry (1), Dallas Startz (5), H.B. Blades (6), Jordan Palmer (6), Tyler Ecker (7). Grade: D - Comments: Of the five players that the Redskins selected, only two even made the team. But, as is explained above, that came as no surprise. The two remaining players they did select, however, played very well and should be starters on their defense for many years to come. LaRon Landry didn’t justify being picked sixth overall, but he did show some promise that he could one day. H.B. Blades was forced into the starting lineup late in the season. Free Agency Free-For-All - Key Losses: Do not adjust your screens: The Redskins really haven’t added anyone through free agency… really. - Key Additions: QB Mark Brunell (New Orleans), WR Reche Caldwell (St. Louis), WR Brandon Lloyd (Chicago), CB David Macklin (St. Louis) - Top Remaining Needs: Defensive end, safety, offensive guard, offensive tackle, cornerback, inside linebacker, kicker/punter

So, now we have 3 picks in the 6th round ...the 30th, 32nd, and 33rd....(or the 196th, 198th, and 199th overall) That'll be a very busy few minutes for Reese, TC, Spags, and crew. Since Visanthe was a 3rd rd pick and he's now a full time starter for Minnesota, we should have gotten no worse than a 5th, and in my opinion, we should've gotten a 4th rd comp pick.

Tiki should have just got in line behind TC and Eli. But instead, left for new glory and then didnt' keep his mouth shut about the team that supported him for years. I don't want to gloat, but Tiki pissed me off when he dissed Eli and complained about TC and then abandoned the team to become a media star. Anyway, here's a story on his troubles. MORE EVIDENCE OF TIKI-LESS TODAY SHOW? Posted by Mike Florio on March 31, 2008, 8:32 a.m. Though this is hardly one of the hard-core football stories that we love to follow, the status of Tiki Barber on NBC’s Today show is compelling for the same reasons that we crane our necks when passing a car wreck. Tiki retired from pro football because he intended to become a multimedia star, openly aspiring to be another Matt Lauer. But when it comes to filling the position of co-host for the fourth hour of Today, the former New York Giants tailback who hopes to follow in the footsteps of Frank Gifford has been passed over in favor of Gifford’s wife. On Monday, NBC announced that Kathie Lee Gifford will return to daytime television, teaming with Hoda Kotb to anchor the final hour of the show. It would have been an ideal vehicle for grooming Tiki for bigger and better things at the network, and we suspect that the decision not to give the gig to Tiki was a factor in his exit from the show, if the rumors regarding his exit from the show are indeed true.

Like Taylorized56, I too can actually feel the pain of some Pat fans - the decent guys - who aren't complete assholes, but simply die-hard football fans who have followed the team for many years, through the years of hard times when there were no superbowls to brag about. But on the other hand, Boston still has the Sox and the Celtics to cheer them up and they've had their moment of fame with the Pats so I can still revel in our glory while snickering at their misfortune.....so anyway My favorite lines: "Hearing people say "well there's always next year" or "maybe they'll go 16-0 again!" to try and cheer me up makes me want to shoot myself in the face". That and the poster who jumped in to razz Pat fans while they're dealing with the loss: "am i in the right thread i was looking for the thread where the patriots went 19-0"

Potential Problems? By Sean O'Sullivan | March 30th, 2008 (Giants 101 MVN) Rumors have been swirling around all off-season about how some of the Giants players were unhappy with their current contracts. Everyday we get closer to training camp and in this time period before the draft the players are going to become more disgruntled with each day passing. The biggest problem with this is that it is 3 very key players that seem to want new contracts. These players would be Chris Snee, Osi Umenyiora and Plaxico Burress. Now the most important of these three players to extend in my opinion would be Chris Snee because he is in the last year of his contract and is the best player on our offensive line. This is not to say that making sure Osi and Plax don’t hold out is not important, but that Snee’s situation is much more imminent because he is going to be a free agent after this season and we have all seen the ridiculous money thrown at average guards in years past. Snee would get huge money if he were to hit the open market and this is why the Giants need lock him down now. Osi Umenyiora’s situation is a little bit more complex. As most of you remember Osi received a contract extension not to long ago, so why is he asking for a new contract now? Well I guess saying that he likes money would be a little too obvious. Now I am not in Osi’s head but I have to guess that he wasn’t too happy with Justin Tuck getting paid more than him when he hasn’t accomplished as much in this league as he has. The Giants set a dangerous precedent with that contract because now Osi is going to have to receive similar money as well as Strahan if he comes back this year. Not to mention when it is time for Kiwanuka to receive his extension in a couple years he is going to demand similar money. I Believe Osi Umenyiora deserves a bit of a pay raise and hopefully the Giants handle this before Osi decides to hold out in training camp. The Plaxico Burress situation has been quieter than the other two, but I feel that he deserves a little bit more than he is making. Plax is a top 10 receiver in this league yet guys like Bernard Berrian and Javon Walker are getting paid huge money in free agency and Plaxico has a relatively cheaper contract. All these Giant players have a legitimate beef with their current contracts and should get paid a little bit more. However, will the Giants have enough money to pay all of them? ESPN has the New York Giants with 9.4 million under the current cap. With the cap continuing to go up and rumors of their being no cap at all in the near future I think the Giants need to take care of their own and do it quickly.

I actually feel guilty for posting this, but I had fun reading it so what the hey. I feel like I'm eaves dropping on someone's private phonecall or something....but blogs are public property I suppose so I shouldn't feel bad. Anyway...I stumbled across a thread in a different blog while looking up info on a science article. The blog had several forums and I saw one that said, "Pats Fans Here For The Game", so I thought I'd just check it out and see what was said during the game. It became funny and interesting enough to me that I decided to copy/paste each comment on WORD and then share it here. Anyway...here it is: ____________________________________________________________________________ PATS TAKE THE FIELD! ----------- Go get 'em boys! ----------- Here we go! GO PATS! ----------- OH NO, who's injured? ----------- I know it's cliche to bitch about refs but god drat have they been terrible the first half ------------- think the o-line will show up after halftime? brady is getting murdered back there ------------- Artemis Entreri posted: I know it's cliche to bitch about refs but god drat have they been terrible the first half You guys got one penalty, the Giants got three I believe. ------------- Regardless other than those two it's been a decent game except the line can't protect Brady for shit ------------- The only big call I saw missed so far was the facemask on Ellis Hobbs by Toomer. Beyond that it has been pretty good. Then again, we only see so much on TV, and Ellis made up for that missed call with some amazing hits and the INT afterwards. ------------- I'm not going anywhere near the game thread, but I think this is an amazing defensive game so far, with both teams clearly saying "we fucking want this." ------------- Hopefully the O-line can stop some of this pressure, or hopefully they tire out before we do, because Brady is not moving in the pocket as well as he usually does. -------------- The only time Brady is getting any good time is in the shotgun with 5 wide it seems. Definitely need to address the protection issues. -------------- Much thanks to the defense for showing up when the offense is sucking ass. --------------- Ellis Hobbs has had a great game so far. Meriweather needs to not get knocked on his ass when blitzing. Same for Seau --------------- I don't mean penalties but the Toomer push off facemask catch was insane for the refs to miss that and the play where Pierre Woods recovered the ball and the Giants guy fell on him should of been down by contact not "Give the Giants the ball back" --------------- Regardless other than those two it's been a decent game except the line can't protect Brady for shit. Woods never had possession of that ball. -------------- The Toomer play would often be called OPI, but if that's the only play the refs miss in a game, that's pretty much as good as you can expect. ------------- Dear guy in my avatar and associates: please stop letting them sack tom brady, thanks ------------- Dear Brandon Meriweather, Jacobs outweighs you by 65 pounds. I'm sure that in the locker room they're telling you that it isn't an excuse. Get it done! --------------- OK, I'm worried. --------------- We'll be OK we'll be OK we'll be OK --------------- Think of it like this, you are only back 3 points when your team's been kinda playing pretty poorly for most of the game. ------------ This is just going to piss off the Pats and make them finally bring their A game. I hope. ------------ I honestly feel sick to my stomach right now I'm so nervous ------------- COME ON BRADY!! ------------- We can't lose this. We can't. My stomach is one tight knot. I feel like I'm going to cry or puke or both ------------- Looks like we're finally playing football! I wish we had started this in like the 2nd fucking quarter, though. ------------- God, being up by only 4 if we get the TD....PLEASE GOD DON'T LET THAT KILL US ------------- Lets go, rally here, DEFENSE MAGIC TIME! -------------- LETS GO! --------------- Breathe, friends. Try to breathe. We're so close. Oh god I can't breathe. ---------------- DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE --------------- FORTH DOWN STOP THEM ---------------- Hold me please hold me --------------- Oh G-d, please....I'm going to fall over dead from this game ------------------ That's it. It's over. I can't believe it ended like this. I can't fucking believe it. The entire season is worthless. 18-0 is worthless ----------------- DON'T SAY THAT YET --------------- Oh my G-d.... WHY!? ------------------ O-Line was shit the entire game, cost them the superbowl ------------- I'm on the verge of tears here. God, I'm going to throw up ------------ Yeah, where the hell was Brady's protection? ------------ And that last play sums up the entire fucking game. --------------- DAMNIT ASSANTE IF YOU MADE THAT INT DAMNIT BELLICHK FOR NOT GOING FOR THE FG ----------- I can't believe it. ------------- Im going to go jump off a bridge ------------- How did this happen? How did it come to this? ------------- If it weren't for that fucking goddamn fourth down go for it. -------------- I want to kill myself. The entire season down the drain. We're going to hear about this bullshit for the rest of our fucking lives. -------------- What's really incredible about this, is not the fact that the Patriots lost, but rather that Tom Coughlin won a Super Bowl with a team quarterbacked by Eli Manning. Something isn't right with the world really, world gone mad. -------------- Perfect season for not only Pats but for Brady and moss. All gone. $800 on two tickets for the AFC game to see history. Heh ------------- Insane. Can't really blame the Patriots though, the Giants d-line was simply beyond godlike this game. I was fairly neutral throughout the game, leaning towards the Pats. Can't deny the Giants a well deserved win though, they did a great job. ------------ I want to kill myself right now ------------ CHOKE!! ------------ "defense wins championships" ------------- Assante Smauel's interception. Or HOW THE fuck did eli escape that sack? How? That would have been it ------------- Someone needs to murder every single remaining member of the '72 Dolphins. It won't make me feel better, but it'll fucking help. ------------- How the hell am I going to sleep tonight? I have to go to work tomorrow. How the fuck am I going to go to work tomorrow? ------------- Oh God damnit. HOW DID HE CATCH THAT BALL? He barely had his hands on it! Manning was SACKED! AGGGHHH ------------- Unfuckingbelievable. How do they not make a play on that last drive to stop them? -------------- drat, that shit sucked. Oh, man. fuck Belichick for not taking that 49-yard field goal. ------------- I just switched to Adult Swim. I can't watch any of the post-game bullshit. This feels awful. -------------- Well that's it. I WILL NEVER hear the end of this. EVER ------------- honestly i am going to sound like a crying fan, and maybe i am, but the fucking refs blew a ton of calls this game ------------- Was it me or did the giants o-line get away with holding on a few key plays? ------------- Seriously, I don't care and don't even want to go down that road. ------------- Don't wine guys, I thought the game was called perfectly. They should have kicked that fucking field goal. They should have grabbed eli. It's on them. This hurts. Alot. But it's not the refs fault. ------------- I love Belichick walking off the field even though the Ref told him the game wasn't over. ------------- Can you blame him? ------------- Drive killing offsides penalties called against the wrong team doesn't make the game perfectly reffed. The patriots hosed up and lost and the Giants won but not without a bit of help ------------- That fumble was complete bullshit, but considering that Brady and Maroney had no time to get anything going before being smoked by the entire Giants D-Line I'd say the Pats hosed themselves. ------------- Perfectly reffed? That may be overstated but no worse than your average game, I don't think. Calm down. I still want to shoot myself, though. -------------- You're right, but save for maybe the blown fumble call (we would have had the ball on the Giants 30 as opposed to our own), they really didn't have all that much effect. -------------- Our offensive line lost this game. And that blown offsides call did kill what was shaping up to be a nice drive. But still, the Giants deserved to win, the Patriots didn't. Did they name Eli MVP? ----------- I don't blame the refs for anything. But not going for that field goal. It murdered us ----------- So... is anyone else kind of relieved it's finally over? ------------ i can't fucking believe that happened ----------- potee posted: You're right, but save for maybe the blown fumble call (we would have had the ball on the Giants 30 as opposed to our own), they really didn't have all that much effect I couldn't believe the Pats didn't challenge that. That looked like it was the Pats' ball. ----------- The better team won, plain and simple. Also, stop running the run and shoot when it isn't working. ------------ maybe if you could've taped the giants practice you guys could of won oh well ------------ Man that was so witty and funny. Fuck you ------------ I blame the guy who was holding off on buying any Pats stuff until the 19-0 hats were available. ------------- they had so many chances to stop them on that last drive. The ball that bounced off Samuel's hands, two guys having Eli in their grasp followed by the ball Rodney almost knocked away, ... it's endless. However they should have figured out the pass protection some time before the 10 minute mark of the fourth quarter. ------------ So sad ------------ I thought McDaniel didn't call a very good game, the adjustments to what the Giants were doing came, but they came very late. This was only his 2nd season as OC wasn't it? He may have been in over his head a little there and kinda got carried away, I had a feeling like the Pats O at the end of the 1st half looked back at the half and realized that they had been led away from what they actually wanted to do and the first half just went by all too quickly. The Giants D was pumped and has good players and is well coached but that's no reason to look like the offense of a non-playoff team against them. I thought they should have switched to quick, timing-based passes which they relied on a lot in that final TD drive much earlier, run more plays from the I or other power formations instead of the shotgun, they should have also realized that Brady has no time to throw those deep routes to Moss, even the balls he got off he got off poorly because the pass rush interrupted his timing. There were 2 or 3 very good opportunities for points where the Pats left empty-handed instead. The Pats D played a good game, but ultimately didn't come up with the big plays when it mattered. Samuel not making that pick is not the big deal because well "that's why he's playing defense" as John Madden would say, letting Eli evade that sack simply because he wanted it more is unforgivable however, letting him complete a pass that's seemingly in air forever then is also a big mistake that can't happen in that situation. The Pats are likely world champs if not for that play. Overall, the Giants did what they had to do just like in Week 17 but the honest truth is that even though the Pats' D stood much taller in this game than in that one, the offense was just quite horrific and some of that blame goes to Brady who didn't look as settled and certainly didn't have his usual accuracy today. Of course the very strong pass rush played a role in that but you know he would have needed to make more plays under duress. It was clear the Giants would blitz, blitz, blitz, they had 2 weeks to prepare for that. ------------ I'd like to point out that Bellichick broke from his usual grey sweatshirt and wore the red sweatshirt tonight. He also wore the red sweatshirt last year when they lost the AFC championship game. Coincidence? You decide. ------------ am i in the right thread i was looking for the thread where the patriots went 19-0 ------------ It's a sub-thread inside the "Ron Paul wins the Presidency and graduates from Economics 101" thread. ----------- Here we fuckin go. We’ll never live that down ----------- Well, I guess our new topic of discussion is "Which Offensive Lineman is worthy of the #7 pick in April" ------------ Fail so badly? They lost by 3 points to a pretty good team. I took the loss last year to the Colts much harder than this one. It felt like the Pats gave away the Colts game but the Giants came in with guns blazing and took the superbowl. The thing that bothers me the most is Mercury Morris still thinks he's hot shit and we'll always hear the tale of the 16-0 that got beat by a wildcard team in the superbowl (unless they go 19-0 next year). ------------ One scenario in which we'll never hear from Morris again - aside from his death - is if two teams enter a Super Bowl at 18-0. The ultimate and impossible dream. ------------- I didn't sleep for two days after the Super Bowl. I had to personally destroy the Super Bowl champ pennants and car magnets at work, and pack up all the shirts and hats to send to Venezuela for 3rd world people to wear. I go to bed every night trying to think up how to invent a time machine to go back in time and give Belichick a tape of the Super Bowl so he could gameplan for the Giants pass rush because hey, he's used to using illegally begotten tape right? ----------- God I'm still so fucking depressed... ----------- Hearing people say "well there's always next year" or "maybe they'll go 16-0 again!" to try and cheer me up makes me want to shoot myself in the face. That's what makes this harder than last year against Indy for me, is that they'll most likely never have another shot at 19-0 again. -------- I don't know why you people are so upset, the Pats won the Super Bowl, and no amount of websites or media presentations will ever convince me otherwise. Ever. ---------- Exactly! Why else would the Giants have the 31st pick? They lost. ---------- Well, the media has billed the AFC title game as the Superbowl for the past few years, so cheer up Pats fans! ----------- I've taken this loss pretty bad myself (considering I got into football this year more than ever before). Took me at least three days before I could read the Globe online again, a week before I could go back to ESPN.com (aside from Simmons articles), and this morning was the first time I've listened to Mike & Mike while getting ready for work. Anytime I see commercials that reference the SB I get sick to my stomach, and even though I grew up a Giants fan, I will now hate them for the rest of my life.

Message to Coughlin: It might never get better than now By Eric Edholm (ProFootball Weekly) March 30, 2008 I didn’t attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month, but I didn’t need to in order to tell how much difference a year makes for Tom Coughlin. A world championship will do that for you, I suppose. But it goes beyond that. The man really has changed. One year ago, at the same Combine podium, Coughlin came off as arrogant, short and difficult. It might have been his lowest point as the Giants’ head coach. Although he had just received a one-year extension following an 8-8 season and first-round playoff bow-out, his contract was more reprieve than reward. The armor wore down a bit as last offseason grew. One Giants staffer said Coughlin “perhaps did a little soul-searching” and came back a little different. He opened closed doors. He listened more. He talked to players in the offseason, a rarity before. But he also buckled in for what he knew would be a battle. He promoted a new offensive coordinator and hired a new defensive coordinator. He gnashed his teeth and fought the title of “lame-duck coach,” but he did so more inwardly. Coughlin knew the only way he’d end that talk was with a big season. New York big. And when some media members noticed that he was acting more civilly as training camp opened, most of them chalked it up to a man knowing his job was on the line. But that was just the façade he put up in front of the cameras. Privately, Coughlin was as tenacious as ever to prove himself. He worked even harder, but there was a subtle adaptation to his ethic: He also delegated more, especially with Steve Spagnuolo — a relative stranger — taking over the defense. Coughlin believed in offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, and he believed in Eli Manning. Few others did. What must be mentioned is that the 2007 season nearly matched the soap-opera moments of the one before it, and though the Giants had reached the playoffs again, there was no guarantee that he would be back as coach. The team had talked with Coughlin about an extension as the team raced to a 9-4 record but backed off following the brutal loss to the Redskins in Week 15. On Jan. 5, before the kickoff of the Giants’ wild-card game at Tampa, Coughlin was a coach wafting in the wind. Lose that game and he probably is looking for a job. On Feb. 5, Coughlin and his Giants were riding through the streets of New York, world champs, celebrating one of the more significant Super Bowl upsets ever. That’s the margin an NFL coach must ride. Just a few weeks later, the smile hadn’t worn off. “I had it all mapped out,” Coughlin said when asked in Indy if he knew he’d be back as a champ. “I knew this would be taking place.” Joking with reporters? Pish tosh. It still doesn’t register with some of us. It’s easy to sit back and say that Coughlin deserved this win, this fate, but there have been plenty of hard-luck coaches in this league — and many of them far more welcoming than the old Coughlin — who never felt what he is experiencing now. But it’s just as easy to mention that it might never get any better for Coughlin. This could be the top. Yes, the Giants are a terrific-looking, young football team, and they could be better next season. But in this league, that guarantees you nothing. There has been a recent trend in sports of teams winning championships after strings of near-misses and painful failures — the Colts in Super Bowl XLI, for one. I can guarantee that to a man, under oath, no player who won a title with that team came back hungrier this past season. For the Giants, the pressure will be immense. Repeating, or even winning the Super Bowl again in two or three years, will be very difficult. Not impossible, but extremely hard. Plus, New Yorkers tend to like not staying happy for too long. All those good feelings from winning the Super Bowl are likely to be balanced with threefold the angst by fans the next few seasons. Just watch. So Coughlin must do what is alien and antithetical, against the wiring of every coach’s brain by nature: He must seize the moment and cherish it. Really relish the feeling. He has to wear that Combine grin from here until July in Albany. Longer, even. Coaches who have won a Super Bowl will tell you that they enjoy the win for a few days and go back to work. They are already behind on their draft and free-agency preparations. But I wouldn’t blame Coughlin one bit if he takes a tiny step back this spring and summer and replays that game, that stirring playoff run, through his head another two, three hundred times. He’s 61 years old. Now that Coughlin has signed another extension — a four-year, $21 million deal he inked earlier this month — it very well could be his last. He’s not old for the game, but it might take another strong run (again, we’re talking about New York strong) to get him to stay beyond that. Heck, there’s no guarantee in this city and in this sport that he even makes it to the end of this deal. My advice for him to enjoy himself now, knowing that this could be his finest hour, has nothing to do with whether the man can coach. He can. He proved it. He and his staff came up with four excellent game plans, one better than the next in the playoffs, and the players executed them. The Cowboys, Packers and Patriots all have more talent. The Giants, though, were focused, driven and dogged. If that’s not the hallmark of a good coach, then what is? I just don’t know if he can stir these boys again to that level. It would be miraculous if he did. “Boy, does that sound good,” Coughlin said when asked at the Combine how a championship felt. It should. He has reached the pinnacle of his sport, and he looks to be enjoying every bit of it to date. Let’s hope the new Tom Coughlin keeps his head in the clouds a little longer. You never know if you’re going to be back.

Supposedly....the test is 50 questions and you have 12 minutes to finish it. I know that one of the questions is: "What is the ninth month of the year?" I imagine a lot of the questions are similar to those used in the gameshow,"So You Think You're Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" Easy questions, but if you have think about them very long you're screwed. Actually, I'd love to get my hands on one of those tests and take it myself.

Yeah...that's kinda surprising. Although this thread was originally started almost a month ago - before combines, pro-days, and wonderlic tests - and so much changes in rankings in the last few weeks before the draft. I think originally, he was in the top 10 and everyone must've figured he would never be there at the 31st pick.

Two months ago, Leodis McKelvin and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie were listed as 2nd rounders and possibly later picks. But since then, both have worked their way up the charts to be at the top of their positions and will probably be gone in the top 10 or 15 picks. So there is no way McKelvin will be around. There's a good chance Cason will still be available and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the Giants grabbed him up. It also wouldn't surprise me a whole lot of they grabbed Kenny Phillips or Jerod Mayo in the first round. Regardless....I think the Giants will simply go for the best available player left on the board....unless it's a quarterback. And the staff relies heavily on input from their coaches and scouts and pretty much ignore magazine ratings.....so who knows what they'll do?

I disagree somewhat. In the old days....it was pure "smash mouth football", may the man with the most muscles and attitude win. But after a succession of Lombardi, Landry, Walsh, etc., the game became more of a high speed chess game instead of a plodding game of checkers. Pure strength and attitude is still necessary, but the speed of today's players is unbelievable at the pro-level. Speed, quickness, agility, and being able to think quickly on the fly and instantly adapt to new complex strategies has become a major part of today's game. Not to mention, offensive and defensive coaches are smarter and more savvy than ever and are constantly coming up with wild and creative schemes to keep the opposition off balance. Since the West Coast Offense has become pretty standard fare these days, there are so many more options for coaches to play with. Granted, football isn't rocket "surgery" , but it has become far more complex than back in the day when you handed the ball to Jim Brown 40+ times a game and rely on pure brawn to make a hole for him.

I think it would have a lot to do with the position the player was playing. I want a smart quarterback who can analyze changing defensive schemes and call out to the players what is going on. I also want smart offensive linemen that know what to do once the scheme is figured out. Now a running back....hmmm...I don't care if he's dumb as a rock because his job is to hold on to the fucking football and move the ball forward as much as possible. He doesn't have to be brilliant, but if asked to defend during a pass play, it'd be nice if he was smart enough to help out the line in a productive way. On the defensive side, I believe that the middle linebacker (who is basically the def. QB) should be pretty damn smart. And I would think the safeties should likewise be pretty smart as they have to constantly change and adjust to a variety of patterns.....even some they've never seen before. Wide recievers are a lot like running backs in my opinion...although they do have to get their routes right and I've seen WR's that just couldn't get it. Cornerbacks have to be a little smarter than the WR's because they have to know when to drop cover and change strategies in the middle of a play. -------------- BTW, Eli Manning took the test once and scored a "39" Dan Marino, Terry Bradshaw, and Jim Kelly all scored "15" on their test. Other notable QB's: John Elway: "29"..... Steve Young: "33"....... Troy Aikmen: "29"...... Brett Favre: "22"..... Drew Bledsoe: "36"..... Kerry Collins: "30"....... Donovan McNabb: "14"....... Tom Brady: "33" Peyton Manning: "28" Looks like Eli is one pretty smart fella....or as my son would say, a "pretty fart smeller" A link to all the quarterback wonderlic scores if interested: QB Wonderlic Scores

I'm bumpin this thread as it took me a long time to put together and it sorta fell off a cliff after a few hours. I promise I won't bump it again.

I agree. But a very athletically gifted player, who is also smart probably equals a better player. Being "smart only", is probably good, but you still have to have the talent to play at the pro level. I think that a very intelligent player with average athletic skills can become a very, very good player and if not for the intelligence, wouldn't have made it as far. On the other hand, I don't think a dumb quarterback can ever become a superstar if he can't read and adjust to differing defensive schemes. Although Dan Marino scored exceptionally low and had a pretty good career.

Oh yeah....I forgot about that one. I believe the trade was conditional upon Tyne's performance, but would be no greater than a 6th round. Hopefully, the 7th round. That means we'll have 8 picks this year, not 9 as I stated earlier. Thanks for pointing that out.

I was going over the wonderlic scores of this years draft class. Players take the test and are allowed to take it over if they'd like. The average score is "20" out of a possible "50" for all NFL players. A score of "10" is the crossing line between illiterate and literate. According to one article I've read, NFL teams like quarterbacks, offensive lineman, middle linebackers and safeties to score well above average as these positions demand very sharp minds that possess mental quickness and toughness. So with no further ado, in this years crop, the highest score came from OT Godser Cherilus (Boston College) who scored a "50" on his second attempt. In second place, there was a 4-way tie with DE Chris Long, QB Brian Brohm, OG Roy Schuening, and PK Taylor Mehlhaff all scoring "45" on their second attempts. (BTW, the best 1st attempt came from OT Chad Rinehart who scored a 35 - he scored a 42 second time around) Second attempts shouldn't count in my opinion as it is the same test so a player gets to know what's coming and can be better prepared and of course should do better. Of those mentioned above, Godser Cherilus scored "25" in his first attempt, Chris Long "34", Roy Schuening "26", and Taylor Mehlhaff "27". A couple of scores that were downright shameful came from LB Ali Highsmith, who scored a "7" in his first attempt, and then took it again and got a whopping "13". OT Ryan Clady took the test once and came in with a proud "13". Now if a player does worse on his second time around....that should raise some serious eyebrows because it would indicate the player could be a borderline retard......"aarrgh....jest giv me da ball coach....aarrggh...I know wat ta doo". ----------- As an interesting side note...if anyone is still bothering to read my lengthy posts.....you would think that the smartest players by position would be quarterbacks...but that's not true. Here's an average ranking of the current NFL playes by position: 1) Offensive tackle: 26 2) Center: 25 3) Quarterback: 24 4) Offensive guard: 23 5) Tight end: 22 6, 7) Safety and Linebacker: 19 8) Cornerback: 18 9, 10) Wide Reciever and Full back: 17 11) Running back: 16 For whatever reason, wiki (and other sources) do not include Defensive linemen, which by my calculations of the current crop average around 20 - 21. To put it in perspective, the average wonderlic score of a chemist is 31, a programmer 29, bank teller 22, a warehouse worker 15, and habitual bloggers 11......(joke there guys, don't scream....bloggers aren't listed) ----------------------------- So.....in this years draft class, the names most commonly thrown around as the potential first round draft pick of the Giants are Dan Conner, Kenny Phillips, Keith Rivers, Jerod Mayo, Antoine Cason, Aquib Talib, Ali Highsmith, Reggie Smith, etc. Here are their scores: LB Dan Conner: did not take wonderlic test S Kenny Phillips: "16" (did not retake test) LB Keith Rivers: "16" (did not retake test) LB Jerod Mayo: "26" (did not retake test) CB Antoine Cason: "16" / "28" CB Aquib Talib: did not take wonderlic test LB Ali Highsmith: "7" / "13" CB/S Reggie Smith: did not take wonderlic test ------------------------------ I remember when the Giants drafted Adrian Awesome who had incredible athletic ability and matched some of the best numbers of any DE in the combine. But, he scored very low on the wonderlic (something like "11") and it was brought up by the talking heads that the reason Awesome fell down the draftboard as far as he did was because of that low score, which many attributed to his partial deafness. Seems the analysts actually got that call right.....and of course, Awesome never panned out for the Jints. Anyway....my thought is that the Giants should definitely take the wonderlic into consideration. Being able to absorb, digest and understand what the coaches expect....as well as the ability to read a play on the fly and compensate quickly is probably more important than incredible speed and strength. But that's just my belief. Going by the wonderlic makes me want the Giants to pick Godser Cherilus with their first pick or Jerod Mayo. I would like to know how Conner would do on the test if he took it. I do not understand how a team could pick Keith Rivers over Mayo when their combines are nearly identicle, but Mayo blows Rivers away when it comes to brains. So...the question is to those of you who read this: How much weight should the Giants put on the wonderlic score when drafting players?

The NFL is supposed to announce by the end of March which teams get compensatory picks and at what round. It is determined by what free agents were lost the previous year and were not replaced by a free agent of equal or greater value. From my determination, the only player we lost that was not compensated for by an additional free agent was Visanthe Shianco. The Giants grabbed him in the 3rd round in 2003. His playing time and stats went up considerably after leaving the Giants for the Vikings. From what I understand about compensatory picks, the highest pick awarded is an additional 4th rounder and the lowest is a 7th rounder of course. Hopefully, we get an extra 4th round pick this year.....but probably a 5th....or if the NFL execs stick it to us, a 6th. We also have an extra 6th round pick we picked up in a trade for Ryan Grant. Since we will have 9 draft picks this year........and, we don't really have any emergency holes to fill....maybe we should package a few picks to move up in the second round. Just thinking out loud. Anyway........just wondering if anyone has heard yet.

Excellent article. As I was reading it I was going to point out that Madison Hedgecock has become a force to help out the line, but then I see you addressed that in your closing statement. I think our O-Line is one of the best in the league and last year was the best kept secret in football. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Giants draft and groom a left tackle and put Diehl back in the rotation as a guard and eventual backup to the new guy. As it stands right now, the line is a very cohesive unit that has been together long enough so that there are no surprises to the other players. They work as single unit knowing exactly what their teammates are going to do. But I still suspect that Giants will be looking to upgrade wherever possible and I suspect (even expect) the Giants to draft Jeremy Zuttah (Rutgers) and start grooming him for a starting position in two or three years. All in all....very nicely written and having the stats available makes it nice read. Good job. And I see this is your first post so "welcome" to the board. Hope you stick around and add your insight.

I think so much of this decision has to do with how the coaches and staff percieve Shockey. There is no doubt that Shockey is a very talented player. But if he has rubbed the staff the wrong way too many times, they may be looking to unload him. I don't think it's a coincidence that several teams are inquiring about Shockey. Just ask yourself, "why have they inquired about his availability and not Osi's....or Tuck's....or Pierce's....or Snee's"? I believe the answer to that question is that the Giants staff has put out feelers to other teams to see what kind of interest they could drum up. Teams don't just come out of nowhere and offer trades for a star player unless they know the team is looking to part ways with him for a decent offer. Are they inquiring about a trade to the Cowboys for Whitten? I don't think so. Teams inquire and make offers when they know the player is "on the block". On the other hand....maybe the Giants put the feelers out there and have no interest in trading Shockey....but want to send a message to Shockey to fall in line with the team and get completely on board behind Eli. If I were a bettin man.....I'd say there's a better than 50:50 chance that Shockey will not be a Giant when the season starts. If the right offer comes in (and it would probably be on draft day), Shockey will be history.

Most of the friends in my circle are Giants, Jets, or Bills fans. And of course, the always handful of Cowboy fans. I even have a few friends that are Raider fans and Miami fans. All of them, with the exception of the Cowboy fans, were rooting for the Giants because they absolutely hate the Patriots (especially the AFC fans). Most of them are real football fans and simply say it was the very best superbowl game they ever watched. The Cowboy fans have been refreshingly quiet about our win. They don't call our win a "fluke", but they boast that next year is going to be different and the Giants aren't going to be so lucky. The Giants played exceptional ball in the latter part of the season. No one can take that away from them. Any areas of weakness or lack of super-talent was made up for with pure heart and desire. The Giants didn't recieve any "give away" calls that determined the outcome of games. They didn't get "lucky hops" or beat teams that were decimated with injuries or playing without their star quarterback. They simply dug in and fought some of the hardest battles ever fought on a football field and took it one week at a time. During the superbowl I couldn't help but notice our players coming off the field so exhausted that they were hanging onto their knees and gasping for air. Every player rose to the occasion and gave it every single thing they had until there was nothing left to give. That's what caused the Giants to win. Anyone calling the game a fluke has to be jeolous or just plain ignorant.

Agree wholeheartedly. It would be especially important during those years when a team gets killed with injuries. I think they'd have to move the cap space up a little in order to accomodate the extras.

An update from Star Ledger on the Strahan negotiations. By Mike Garonflo "So I was just watching ESPNEWS and I heard them mention the Giants and DE Michael Strahan's agent are talking about a new contract ... according to the Newark Star-Ledger. Huh? Guess I was too vague yesterday when I said the "lines of communication are open." What I meant is that, according to someone involved in the situation, Strahan's agent contacted the Giants this week and said, "Hey, let's talk about this." It was initial contact and didn't lead anywhere close to a resolution -- not that anybody expected it would right off the bat. As I mentioned yesterday, Strahan is in Africa on vacation. Not sure when he's coming back, but I do know negotiations won't begin in earnest until he's on American soil. (Btw, I can't guarantee you that the Giants are expecting said "negotiations," though team president and CEO John Mara suggested at the scouting combine the team would consider renegotiating the deal.) If you're looking to handicap this one, here's what to expect: If (make that a big fat "IF") the Giants agree to renegotiate, they'll probably want to give a one-year extension (through the 2009 season) to make it clear that they didn't just throw more money at a guy for one season. They'll probably offer somewhere in the range of $6-7 million for the upcoming season. (Remember, Justin Tuck is now averaging $6 million per season, so the team will likely understand that Strahan will not play for less than that number.) As for Strahan, I'll say he'll be looking for something in the range of $8 million for this upcoming season. (That's salary and signing bonus combined, meaning it could be something like a two-year, $12-million deal with $4 mil on the back end; in other words, the team could defer the $4 mil he's owed this year and give him $8 mil this upcoming season.) $8 mil is what Strahan was averaging on his last deal of four years, $32 million. He's currently scheduled to earn $4 million in base salary for this season. Seems like this one should be able to get done, but I'm sure it'll still be interesting". ***

Currently, a team can have 80 players on their roster. But a few teams believe there should be more and apparantly, this is a contentious issue among team owners. "John Clayton of ESPN reports that some teams want to change the current rule, which limits the number of signed players on rosters to 80. Per Clayton, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have proposed increasing training camp roster limits to 90, the competition committee is pushing for increasing rosters to a maximum of 86, and some owners want to keep the limit at 80. Part of the issue is that in past years, teams could use roster exemptions for players from NFL Europa/NFL Europe/World League/World League of American Football, and those exemptions allowed teams to have more than 80 players in training camp. Since that league no longer exists, those roster exemptions no longer exist. That means keeping the rules the same would effectively reduce the number of spots on training camp rosters. But some owners want to reduce the number of spots on training camp rosters. Even though the money paid to those players is not substantial (the last few guys on the training camp roster only make about $1,000 a week), the owners and the players’ union haven’t been seeing eye to eye lately, and the owners might not be in a mood to add even a few thousand dollars to the amount they pay out to players. A half-dozen extra spots at the bottom of the training camp roster doesn’t sound like a big deal, but the debate surrounding it could be the latest sign of labor unrest in the league".

The Giants are meeting with CB Reggie Corner (Akron) - interesting name for a cornerback! The Giants are also meeting with TE John Tereshinski (Wake Forest ). Maybe the Giants are serious about moving Shockey to the Saints. More than a few beat writers are saying that the Saints are not giving up on acquiring Shockey.